Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Scotland All-time 23 member team

Wembley Wizards

Scotland was credited for spreading the game of football around the world. Today, the Latin style of football was evolved from the short passing game of Scotland. Charles
Miller, a Scot, was said to have brought the game to Brazil. The
Argentine Football Association was founded by a Scot.

In the beginning, Scotland almost played excursively against teams from the British isles. The Wembley Wizards was probably the first of the great Scottish sides. They beat England 5-1 in 1928. Scotland participated in their first World Cup Finals in 1954. They only brought 13 players in a squad of 22. Four years later, Matt Busby was due to manage the team, but he withdrew after suffering injuries from the Munich Air Disaster. They did not fare well in both tournaments.

From the 1970's to the early 1980's, Scottish players such as Denis Law, Billy Bremner, Alan Hansen, Kenny Dalglish and Graeme Souness were starring in the English league and European football. Scotland qualified 5 straight WC Finals in this period. In 1974, they went to the World Cup Finals, which turned out to be their best World Cup Finals. They remained undefeated, but went out because of poorer goal difference. In 1978, they had played poorly in the first two games, but beat eventual finalist Holland 3-2 on the final match. They also went to WC Finals in 1982, 1986 and 1990, but failed to reach the second stage on each occasion.

Scotland 1978

If
there were an All-Time World Cup, this would be the 23 players I would
bring to the tournament. The team is not an All-Star team. I tried to
be as realistic as possible. A few of the players are selected for tactical reasons at the expense of more famous players.

TeamGK: Jim LeightonLeighton's international career lasted for 16 years, from 1982 to 1998. He was an uncapped squad member for the 1982 World Cup. He played in all of his country's matches at the 1986, 1990 and 1998 World Cups. He is the second highest cap record holder. he played for are Aberdeen (two spells), Manchester United, Arsenal, Dundee and Hibernian. GK:Ronnie SimpsonSimpson was one of the "Lisbon Lions" who won the European Cup in 1967. He also played for Queen's Park, Third Lanark and Hibernian. He represented Great Britain at the 1948 Olympics, but he did not play for Scotland until 1966. He was Celtics' best ever keeper.

GK: Andy Goram Voted as Glasglow Rangers' greatest keeper. He played for them between 1991 and 1999. He played for many clubs after Rangers. His international career, however, was limited due to playing at the same time as Jimmy Leighton. he was capped 43 times.RB: Danny McGrainMcGrain was an All-time great for Celtics. He was among the best ever rightback coming out of United Kingdom. With Celtic, he won seven League Championships, five Scottish Cups and two Scottish League Cups. He spent his final season of his career with Hamilton Accies, where he helped win them promotion to the premier league. He played in the 1974 and 1982 World Cups for Scotland, captaining the side in their opening match against New Zealand at the 1982 World Cup.

Danny McGrain

RB: Sandy JardineHe twice won the Scottish Football Writers Association Player of the Year award and was part of the Rangers team that won the 1971–72 European Cup Winners' Cup. He was capped 38 times. He appeared at the WC Finals in 1974 and 1978. SW: Alan HansenAmong the greatest defender ever from United Kingdom. He won three European Cups and 8 English league titles with the great Liverpool team of the 1970's and 1980's. Despite being one pf the greatest ever centerback from the UK, Hansen only won 26 Scotland caps. The reason given for his lack of caps by Scotland coaches of the 1980s was that a formidable central defensive partnership had formed between Willie Miller and Alex McLeish at Aberdeen. he played in the 1982 WC Finals, but he left off controversially the WC in 1986.

Alan Hansen

CB: Alex McLeishMcLeish was known for his defensive partnership with Willie Miller and Jim Leighton that won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1983 with Aberdeen. McLeish is Scotland's third most capped player, having gained 77 international caps between 1980 and 1993. He played in three World Cups with Scotland, in 1982, 1986 and 1990.CB: Billy McNeillAs the captain of "Lisbon Lions, he was the first British footballer to hold aloft the European Cup in 1967. He also won nine Scottish League championships, seven Scottish Cups, and six Scottish League Cups. He was voted as Cetlics' greatest captain. He was capped 29 times.LB/CB: John GreigGreig played his entire career with Rangers. He was voted as the greatest Ranger ever by the fans in 1999. He scored 120 goals for the club and won three domestic trebles. Greig actually started his career with Rangers as a forward, prior to being moved to defense. He won the 1971–72 European Cup Winners' Cup. He was capped 44 times. He led Scotland in a famous victory over England, their first defeat as World Cup winner at Wembley. LB/RB/CM: Steve NicolHe spent 14 years with Liverpool winning the 1984 European Cup and many other titles. He was a versatile player who appeared in many positions. Nicol also played with Notts County, Sheffield Wednesday and Doncaster Rovers. He earned 27 caps and went to the Mexico 1986.

LB: Tommy Gemmell Gemmell was a legendary player with Celtic. He scored the opening goal for the Lisbon Lions in 1967. He scored again at the European Cup Final in 1970. He also hada successful career with Nottingham Forest and a short stint in the USA. Capped 18 times for Scotland.

CM: Graeme SounessSouness played for Tottenham Hotspur, Middlesbrough and Sampdoria, but his greatest achievement came while he played for Liverpool. He was one of the greatest ever Liverpool players. He won three European Cups with them, captaining the team in the early 1980's. He was also the Player-Manager for Rangers. He earned 54 caps for Scotland.

Graeme Souness

CM/LM: Jim Baxter He was the best Scottish players in the 1960's. He was known for his performances against England at an era where England won the World Cup. He helped Scotland beating England many times. Baxter was known for his career with Rangers. Nicknamed "Slim Jim", he won 10 titles with them. He moved to Sunderland in 1965 and then, Nottingham Forest in 1967.

CM: Billy BremnerBremner was Leeds United's greatest ever player. He was their captain when they dominated English football. He was also named as the FWA Footballer of the Year in 1970. He was known for his rough play. He is a member of both the English Football Hall of Fame and Scottish Football Hall of Fame. He spent 1976 to 1978 at Hull City, before being appointed player-manager at Doncaster Rovers in November 1978. He was capped 50 times. He went to the WC finals in 1974.

CM: Paul McStayMcStay spent his entire career with Scottish team Celtic, making his debut in 1982 and retiring in 1997. He captained both Scotland and Celtic at all age levels. He was capped 76 times for his country and scored nine goals. He helped Celtic win three league titles, the last one in 1988 and remains a popular figure amongst Celtic's fans. He played over 500 games for Celtic, captaining them for many years and was considered one of the greatest players for them.

CM/DM/LB: Dave MacKayKnown for his toughness and passing abilities. He won the Double with Tottenham Hotspurs in 1961 and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1963. He was selected as one of the Football Heros stamp series to celebrate the 150 years of English FA. He also represented Scotland 22 times, and was selected for their 1958 FIFA World Cup squad. Mackay tied with Tony Book of Manchester City for the Football Writers' Association's Footballer of the Year award in 1969.

Dave Mackay's stamp

RW: Jimmy JohnstoneJohnstone played over 500 games for Celtic. In 2002, he was voted as the greatest Cetlic players by the fans. He played over 500 games for them. He was one of the Lisbon Lions. He later played for the San Jose Earthquakes, Sheffield United, Dundee, Shelbourne and Elgin City. He was capped 23 times. He went to the WC Finals in 1974, but did not play.

Jimmy Johnstone

LW/SS: Billy Liddell He was one of the early star for Liverpool. He spent his entire career at Liverpool starting from 1938 to 1961. He was at one point the appearance record holder for Liverpool. He was voted the 6th greatest player for them.

LW: Alan MortonHe was an early star player for Scotland. He was part of the "Wembley Wizards" after Scotland beat England 5-1 in 1928. He played for the Rangers.

AM: Alex JamesJames was one of the greatest player ever for Arsenal. He is most noted as the play making lynch pin with Arsenal with whom he won six senior trophies in the first seven seasons of the 1930s. he also played for Preston Northend. For Scotland, he was known with his partnership with Hughie Gallacher. He was a member of "Wembley Wizards" that England 5-1 in 1928. However, he was only capped 8 times.

FW: Denis Law Law spent 11 years at Manchester United, where he scored 237 goals in 404 appearances. His goals tally places him third in the club's history, behind Bobby Charlton and Wayne Rooney. He partnered George Best and Bobby Charlton at Manchester United, which was considered to be most popular forward line in British history. He was capped 55 times. He managed to play in the 1974 WC Finals.

Denis Law

ST: Kenny Dalglish He was the greatest player for Liverppol in an era where Liverpool was considered to be among the greatest club sides in history. He won three European Cups with them. He is the cap record holder and their top ever scorer for Scotland. Dalglish won the Ballon d'Or Silver Award in 1983, the PFA Player of the Year in 1983, and the FWA Footballer of the Year in 1979 and 1983. In 2009 FourFourTwo named Dalglish as the greatest striker in post-war British football, and in 2006 he topped a Liverpool fans' poll of "100 Players Who Shook the Kop".

Kenny Dalglish

ST: Hughie GallacherHe is one of the Scotland national football team's most prolific goalscorers with 24 goals from his 20 internationals, a remarkable strike rate of more than a goal a game. Gallacher was one of the Wembley Wizards who beat England 5–1 at Wembley Stadium in 1928. He played for many clubs, but he was probably remembered for playing for Newcastle United, Chelsea and Derby. He scored over 450 goals while
playing in the English league during the 1920's and 1930's.

Squad ExplanationMost players are from before the 1990's. Steve Nicol was the big surprise. I took him for his versatility. I am a fan of Alan Brazil, but he was not considered.

Starting lineup Formation: 4-4-2 The
formation is a classic British 4-4-2. I dropped Denis Law for Alex
James. I am a big fan of Dave Mackay so he started over Bremner. I do
not have a preference between Billy McNeill and Joghn Greig.